P
Filipino
Ensaymada
Ensaymada is the Philippines' most beloved enriched bread — a soft, buttery, spiral-shaped roll made from a dough enriched with egg yolks, butter, and sugar, cooked in special molds, then frosted with a generous layer of creamed butter (not icing) and showered with grated queso de bola (Edam cheese). The savoury-sweet combination of buttered enriched bread with salty cheese and sweet frosting is distinctly Filipino — the Edam cheese was introduced during Spanish colonial rule and was adopted as a luxury ingredient that found its way into the culture's most treasured bread. Ensaymada is a Christmas and celebration food; the best versions are extraordinarily tender, with a crumb that tears into soft, silky strands.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the dough
500 g
plain flour
plus extra for dusting
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
7 g
instant yeast
Your own market
100 g
caster sugar
Your own market
1 tsp
fine salt
Your own market
6
egg yolks
room temperature; no whites
Your own market
125 ml
whole milk
warm
Your own market
150 g
unsalted butter
room temperature, cut into small pieces
Your own market
For the butter frosting
120 g
unsalted butter
room temperature, beaten until light and spreadable
Your own market
80 g
icing sugar
sifted
Your own market
For the simple syrup
50 g
caster sugar
Your own market
50 ml
water
combined with sugar in a 1:1 ratio
Your own market
For the topping
120 g
queso de bola (Edam cheese)
coarsely grated
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
II
The Method
1
Combine the flour, instant yeast, caster sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the egg yolks and warm milk. Mix on low speed until the ingredients come together into a rough dough, then increase to medium speed and knead for 8–10 minutes. The dough is ready when it is smooth, elastic, and pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
2
With the mixer running on medium-low speed, add the room-temperature unsalted butter a few pieces at a time, waiting until each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next. This is where the dish lives or dies: butter added too quickly breaks the dough's structure and produces a greasy, slack mass that will never recover its elasticity; each piece must disappear entirely into the dough before the next is introduced. Continue until all 150 g of butter is absorbed and the dough is silky, supple, and slightly tacky — it will hold its shape when pulled.
3
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, shape into a ball, and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and prove at room temperature for a minimum of 2 hours. The dough is ready when it has approximately doubled in volume and a finger pressed into its surface leaves an indentation that springs back slowly.
4
Punch down the dough and divide into six equal portions of approximately 150 g each. Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough into a thin rope approximately 35–40 cm long. Coil the rope from the centre outward into a tight spiral, tucking the tail underneath. Place each spiral into a greased ensaymada mold or individual fluted tart ring. Cover loosely and prove for a further 2 hours minimum. The rolls are ready when they are visibly puffed, fill their molds, and feel light and airy when the mold is lifted.
5
Bake in an oven preheated to 170 °C (conventional) for 18–22 minutes. The ensaymada are done when the tops are a pale, even golden-yellow — not deep brown, which would indicate a dry, toughened crumb — and the rolls sound hollow when tapped on the base.
6
While the ensaymada are baking, dissolve the caster sugar in the water over low heat to make a simple syrup. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until just warm. As soon as the baked ensaymada come out of the oven, brush each roll generously with the warm syrup. The surface should appear slightly glossy and feel tacky to the fingertip.
7
Allow the ensaymada to cool fully to room temperature before frosting. Beat the room-temperature unsalted butter with the sifted icing sugar until pale and spreadable. Spread this butter frosting thickly and evenly over the top of each roll. The butter must neither tear the surface — which indicates it is too cold — nor disappear into the crumb, which indicates the roll is still warm. It should sit as a distinct, opaque, creamy layer on the surface.
8
Shower each frosted ensaymada immediately with coarsely grated queso de bola. The coarse shreds should remain as visible, distinct, salty flecks against the pale butter frosting — fine grating melts invisibly into the surface and defeats the textural contrast that defines the finished bread.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Queso de bola imported from the Netherlands, aged Edam with pronounced salinity; unsalted Normandy-style cultured butter (84 % fat or above) used in both dough and frosting; milled cake flour or Type 00 for a finer, more tender crumb.
02
Estate — Locally produced queso de bola at Christmas season when the cheese is freshest; high-fat unsalted butter (82 %); strong bread flour blended with plain flour in a 1:1 ratio for structure with tenderness.
03
Market — Standard supermarket Edam block, coarsely grated; commercially available unsalted butter; plain bread flour throughout.
04
House — Any Edam or mild semi-hard cheese available; standard unsalted butter; all-purpose plain flour; the spiral shape and the savoury-sweet contrast of butter frosting and cheese remain the dish's identity at every rung.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. After kneading, the dough pulls cleanly from the bowl and stretches without tearing — the windowpane is thin enough to be translucent.
◇Touch. After butter incorporation, the dough is silky and slightly tacky but holds its shape; it is neither greasy nor slack.
◇Touch. After first proof, a finger pressed into the dough leaves an indentation that springs back slowly, not instantly.
◇Sight. After second proof, rolls are visibly puffed, fill their molds, and the surface appears domed and delicate.
◇Sound. A baked roll tapped on its base returns a hollow sound, confirming a fully set, airy crumb.
◇Sight. The finished frosting sits as a distinct opaque layer; coarse cheese shreds are visible as separate salty flecks against the white butter surface.
◇Where it lives or dies. The butter enrichment step cannot be rushed: each piece of room-temperature butter must be fully absorbed into the dough before the next is added, or the dough breaks irreparably into a greasy mass.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Buffalo Trace Distillery · Kentucky Bourbon Country
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Whisky
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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